Hmmmmm.........CONTENT

Happy Thanksgiving.
One of my favorite days of the year.
This holiday is usually casual and mellow for our family.
We stayed up late having a Harry Potter movie marathon last night, slept in this morning and now the big girls and I are sharing the kitchen to prepare our contributions for today. I am in charge of cranberry sauce and butternut squash. Easy peasy.
Danelle has a caramel pecan cheesecake in the oven. I love Danelle.
Miranda is in the final stages of prepping her pumpkin pie to go in the oven.
I will go start my cranberry sauce now while listening to Christmas tunes and sipping hot cocoa.
Danelle and Derek are downstairs now playing Wheel of Fortune on the wii. Miranda went down to watch. The little girls stayed the night at Grandmom and Grandpop's house.

My heart is always so full on this day. I have a quiet little tradition of spending this month reflecting on all of my many blessings and all that I have to be grateful for. By the time Thanksgiving day is here my heart is overflowing with gratitude. This year I am particularly grateful for fire extinguishers (we had a kitchen fire on the 14 and the fire fighters said that we probably would have lost our house if we hadn't had AND USED a fire extinguisher!), surgeons, paid time off (Derek had shoulder surgery on the 10th and will be out of work  until December 17), modern medicine to fight cancer (Derek's sister Kristen was diagnosed with breast cancer in October and is undergoing chemotherapy now), prayer, family & friends, therapy and rehabilitation (my Dad Lloyd just completed a month in rehab for alcohol and drug addiction and seems to be doing well), sunshine, homeschool, tender mercies and mostly for a loving Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ.
For their love and mercy. For the savior's atoning sacrifice. For answered prayers and prayers that seem to go unanswered to build character, patience, strength and other traits that we didn't even know we were capable of possessing.
So much to be thankful for this day.
 I am thankful for each of you......oh, and Pinterest too!